TECHNOLOGICAL wizards at an Inverclyde secondary school have come up with an ingenious idea for a product that's won them a place in the final of a prestigious competition. 

Molly Bristow, Zara Deegan, and Olivia Reilly, who are all in S4 at Port Glasgow High School, are travelling to London next week for the TeenTech national final. 

The pupils want to create an anxiety ring, or 'fidget' ring, which connects to an app and helps people discover what's affecting their mental health. 

The product, which they've called Spiral, will be pitched to TeenTech bosses at the Institution of Engineering and Technology on June 28. 

Greg Starling, faculty head of technology at Port Glasgow High School, said the girls have worked really hard on the project. 

He added: "I'm really, really proud of them. 

"The quality of their work is beyond their years and we've really seen their problem solving skills and confidence grow over the last few months.

"Getting to this stage of the competition is an amazing achievement."

The talented trio started working on their product design in September last year after they visited the University of Strathclyde for a TeenTech open day. 

When connected to an app, the ring will pass on information about when most fidgeting takes place, which will be presented to the user. 

(Image: George Munro)
Having access to that data will allow people to trace back their day to discover what's been making them anxious. 

Molly, Olivia, and Zara carried out market research in the school to find out what pupils thought about jewellery, and about their attitudes to anxiety. 

Olivia said: "We had a look at spinning rings and thought they were really cool. 

"A lot of pupils said they enjoyed wearing jewellery, and admitted that they fidget."

Mr Starling said experts including Joe Gibson and Eilish McArthur came to the school to mentor the girls and were 'blown away' by the progress they were making. 

The experts helped make the product 'even more real', and discussed concepts and features including sensors, nanotechnology, and gyroscopes.

(Image: Port Glasgow High School)
The submission to TeenTech took the form of a Powerpoint, the results of market research, artwork, a video, and the overall pitch. 

At the final, they will be set up at a stall and will get the chance to pitch their idea to the judges. 

Molly said: "We're all really excited about it. 

"If we win we'll have to go up onto the stage. 

"The song we've chosen for going on stage is Sam Fender's 'Seventeen Going Under' which has the line 'See I spent my teens enraged / Spiralin' in silence' which links back to the name of the product."

Clyde Eats director and co-founder Janine Brennan donated £250 to the group to help fund their trip to London. 

She said she was really inspired when she read about the project in an email from Olivia. 

Janine said: "I knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity to help the girls. 

"We had a bit of funding left over through our community impact programme. 

"We're all about 'feeding young peoples' potential. 

"I'm sure the girls will do really well and we wish them all the best."